Just wondering if there are any specific types of shoes that are
better for unicycling? I understand that it’s probably all up to
personal preference but I’m sure that some would be better or worse,
depending on what kind of riding you were doing.
I’m only asking this because, I just had an unfortunate accident on a
Torker dx. My foot slipped off of the pedal and took half of the sole
of my DC skateboarding shoe with it. I switched to my boots but, now I
find it harder to feel the pedals.
I realise that the pedals were designed for muni riding. My mistake.
At least it only took the shoe apart and not my shin.
I’m really not a fan of those pedals. Being a beginner, I find it
nearly impossible to adjust my footing. I’m also pretty large and have
large feet so, in my boots, my heel has a tendancy to hit the crank
arm when it comes around but, I can’t just slide it over. I guess that
learning how to ride on something like this will make it easier when I
get somethng more proper.
For muni i wear light walking boots, the tread allows for good grip and the stepped sole will keep the pedal more or less in place all by itself. Skate shoes are designed for standing on a large, grippy, perfectly flat surface (a skateboard) and therefore aren’t particularly good at standing on a small slippery surface (a metal pedal).
i agree with kington. i too wear a light hiking shoe i got at gi joes for $30. the sole is super grippy and with the pins on the pedals i get great traction.
I always wear skate shoes when I ride. So far the best ones I’ve found for unicycling are the Osiris Private Reserve Clints. They are great.
In my opinion, these are things a good unicycling shoe should have:
a thick sole (saves the bottom of your feet from bruises.
Padded sides and top (important for just about everything, specifically flatland though.
The sole should have tread that is fairly solid if you are using pinned pedals and doing big drops (although anything above six feet or so hurts regardless). I think that Vans tread sucks for drops because since the pins go into the holes, you only really get a tiny bit of rubber cushioning.
Other things that are nice but not necessary are:
Shoelace protector type thing (so that the laces don’t get caught in the wheel), and high or medium top shoes, for ankle protection.
I like standard converse all stars for unicycling because the sole is so flimsy that it can wrap around the pedal (to some degree), despite this, the converse will fall apart FAST if you are a trials junkie
i wear skate style shoes for almost everything now, i do occasionaly wear walking boots for muni. i like my animal trainers because theyve got a flat sole on them and theyre thick and really compfortable. what ever you do though tuck your laces in!! it have ripped my shoes up and my hands too from getting tied up to the pedal. it hurts!
1+
also, to add to that, a gummy tread will grip the best, and you want a fairly smooth sole. my personal preference would be for something like a dc manteca, converse one star classics, etnies commuter, etc. danscomp.com has a great selection of shoes.
my wife uses cross trainers w/ a nice smooth sole (the sole is the key) but usually skate shoes have more protection on the top and sides of the feet.
i muni in hiking shoes sometimes because they grip the trails well when i have to dismount, but the tread can make them grab or slip depending on how they contact the pedal.
but that’s just my opinion
i also think it would make sense to wear a highly flexible shoe for freestyle, or a lightweight, close-fitting shoe for racing, distance, or commuting
hope this helps!!
I wear my old running sneakers, and they work great for me. They grip pretty well, they are comfortable, and they work well when hiking up. They don’t have the padding that skate shoes have, but I rarely ride anythng other than MUni, so I don’t find that I need it.
Actually mornish yeah, now that i think back to the days when I did trials I would get some bad cuts and bruises there. They are basically made of nothing so they provide little protection. Lovem for long distance though.
Yeh try doing that on a 29er with 125s going top speed! I was lucky my laces snapped before I faceplanted - but when you start to feel it pull tighter and tighter, it really isn’t a nice feeling.
Just yesterday i was riding down a rather steep hill pedaling as fast as i could when my pants leg got caught in the spokes and stopped the wheel from turning. I flew about five feet and skidded on gravel for another ten. Not good
I’d say just a normal sneakers gives enough grip, but miune have got kinda worn down since I started unicycling, they don’t grip into the pins as well as when I started.
I’ve tried it on a 36, mine didn’t snap. That feeling of helplessly falling and then being tied to a big wheel in the middle of the road is not pleasant. Lucky there were no cars coming.
Anyway, I have 2 pairs of vans with the waffle soul. One are ordinary vans and the others are high tops. Very grippy (but sometimes it is difficult to ajust my feet if the peddal pins get stuck in the holes).
Pin pedals are designed for skate shoes. Because of this, they work very well with them.
Shoes with tread will work on some pedals, but they actually tend to reduce grip, because you get some of the pins sitting in the tread and not sticking in the rubber of the shoe. Whether the tread holds on is very much a matter of tread shape and foot position. With skate shoes, you’re guaranteed consistent grip whatever the foot position.
I like vans personally. They have good padding but aren’t too massive.
Converse I found made for tired feet and hurting my ankles every time I fell off. They have zero protection for your feet.
I used to wear hiking boots or approach shoes (like cut down hiking boots). They were alright, but had the problem of foot position being a hassle, and don’t grip anywhere near as well as skate shoes. They were a bit nicer when you have to walk up an icy hill or when you dismount on very slippery surfaces, but skate shoes being rubbish for walking just encourages you to try riding as much as possible.
I started off riding with Converse, as they were the sneakers I had at the time. They had great feel of the pedal but no support for feet and ankles -ended up with tired, aching feet and sprained ankle, and busted the sides of the shoes out.
Coming from the Converse it took some getting used to as the initially it felt like a loss of feel, but I’ve been very happy with the Open Court shoes since - the tread grips really well on pinned pedals, feel stable, lots of ankle and foot support, stiff-ish sole - overall really feels like more power gets to the pedals when needed, more control and less discomfort. I’d rate them way ahead of the Converse.
Only downside for me is the laces, but I lace them so they face away from the uni, so far so good
For MUni I’ve taken to using approach shoes; currently I’m using the La Sportiva Cirque Pro. It has a sticker bottom than Vans, but the tread depth is only 2mm so it’s still not hard to move your foot around on the pedal. There’s good protection on the toe and heel cup. They’re stiffer than skate shoes, but you can still feel the pedal pretty well.
What do people suggest for street and a little bit of trials riding? … this kinda stuff just finished making the vid http://www.vimeo.com/923999 … and my shoes are wearing out, although they have been pretty good, they are converse all star’s but a little different … see them on the vid
